Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. Reduces Stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)

Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. cut its stake in The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) by 4.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,631 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Home Depot were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc increased its stake in Home Depot by 27.6% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 27,155 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $9,348,000 after buying an additional 5,879 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of Home Depot by 3.3% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 37,127 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $14,242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Home Depot by 5.5% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 18,628 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,146,000 after acquiring an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Home Depot by 7.3% in the first quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC now owns 10,431 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,001,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Home Depot by 6.2% in the first quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,200 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,611,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HD has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Home Depot from $380.00 to $375.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Home Depot from $395.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Home Depot in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $426.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital upgraded Home Depot from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Home Depot from $377.00 to $363.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $402.38.

Home Depot Trading Up 0.5 %

HD opened at $411.90 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $408.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $378.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $356.92. The Home Depot, Inc. has a 1-year low of $274.26 and a 1-year high of $420.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.74, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Home Depot (NYSE:HD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $43.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.57 billion. Home Depot had a return on equity of 681.27% and a net margin of 9.71%. The firm’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.65 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Home Depot, Inc. will post 15.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Home Depot Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. Home Depot’s payout ratio is currently 60.36%.

Home Depot Profile

The Home Depot, Inc operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States and internationally. It sells various building materials, home improvement products, lawn and garden products, and décor products, as well as facilities maintenance, repair, and operations products. The company also offers installation services for flooring, water heaters, bath, garage doors, cabinets, cabinet makeovers, countertops, sheds, furnaces and central air systems, and windows.